Diversity in Unity

wish everyday we could do this...see each other as Indians rather than with the colour of religion.

It was spontaneous. People from every nook and corner of the country came out of their houses last wednesday to celebrate India's victory over Pakistan in the cricket world cup semis. In a giant show of oneness, Indians from various social stratas and belonging to different religions and castes celebrated together. They hugged each other. They danced together. No questions asked, no thoughts processed on whether they are dancing with someone from another religion or from a different social class. Chaiwala hugging bigshot bussinessman, construction workers dancing with software engineers, congressman giving high five to communist. The scenes were surreal. For once, a majority of India had matching thoughts and matching actions. Similar scenes were repeated on saturday too, after India won the world cup. For just this one day, I'll always be thankful to this game. How I wish everyday we could win a world cup!

At the same time, there's a diametrically opposite, pessimistic viewpoint which tells me that all this was just in the name of a game. We never come together in such massive strengths for anything else. If ever we do come together, we look at the colour of the feathers of the birds flying with us. Yes, we come together to celebrate religious festivals with our fellow believers, we come together for riots with our fellow fanatics, we come together to fight for our respective languages, we come together as congressmen and saffron brigades...We never come together as Indians, except for trivial things like sports. No, its not anyone's case that such coming together for sports is bad. Just that, how beautiful it would've been to see that togetherness in our everyday life. Alas, once we all walked back to our houses and wrapped up the tricolour and placed it safely in the cupboard(not to be touched until the next big match), our togetherness also seemed to dissolve. Dissolved in our myriad differences like a a single white drop in a multi coloured ocean...something that can be called unity (lost) in diversity.

When will we come together like Egypt or Tunisia and give it back to our leaders for looting and fooling us? Maybe, Anna Hazare's indefenite fast against corruption that started yesterday is a good starting point. (http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/). Find out the location of the fast in your city, join in for sometime and support...

Some more shots from that wild night of celebration after India's world cup win

Sachin...One billion hearts....one wish...one dream fulfilled

the joy overflows..people celebrating inside and on top of a state transport bus

Joy!Jubiliation!

the spirit..

dedicated to THE MAN! Sachin!

I can't drive anymore...I want to jump!

people greeting strangers on the streets...how cricket unites people!

Blocked!

http://www.facebook.com/myopiclensesphotography

your crusader Praveen

The Corporate World Cup

Cricket fans getting lathicharged near Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore as they wait for non-existent tickets!

This monday was a day of anticipation. On the previous day, I had recieved the notification from kyazoonga, the online ticketing agency, about the release of the tickets of the cricket world cup final. Only 4000 tickets were to be sold to the public, out of which only 1000 will come online. The tickets were to be available on the site from 1 PM on monday. A server down message greeted us at the site at 1 PM. Frantic calls to friends followed for one hour. And atlast, the site becomes active. I was jumping up with joy as the ticket booking page with the stadium seating arrangements loaded slowly on my screen. And then I hovered the mouse over one of the stands and it flashes "Rs.12500". For a moment, I thought I might be seeing zeroes when there are none. Then as it sunk in, I consoled myself with the thought that this might be one of those expensive stands. Mouse over next stand flashes "Rs.18750". And rest of the stands tickets were frozen. Yes, these are the rates of the tickets meant for the general public. Am I the only one smelling a scam here?

The scam doesn't start with the ticket prices. It started with the renovation of the stadiums. Most stadiums where renovation happened, has ended up with lesser seating capacities. The Wankhede stadium where the finals are to happen has ended up with a capacity of 33,000 from the original 40,000. And, why are the finals happening in such a small stadium when we have much bigger ones all around(Eden gardens??). If the 'Mumbai lobby' really wanted the final to be in Mumbai, why not the D Y Patil stadium with a capacity of 60,000? And, of the 33,000 available seats, 20,000 tickets are reserved for the Mumbai Cricket Association. Special passes are a necessity, but its no more special when more than 50% goes to politicians, bureaucrats, officials, their second wife's third husband's neighbour and so on. And many of these special passes later appear in the black market at exhorbitant rates. Cricket in India is certainly in the hands of businessmen.

When the India-England match was shifted from Eden gardens, it brought happiness as well as a tinge of sadness. Sadness for the mecca of Indian cricket losing a game. And happiness for the match coming to my backyard in Bangalore. We decided to queue up for the tickets that were to be sold from 8 AM today. The plan was to go there around 4 AM and queue up. But then, something told me that it won't work out as expected. In the end, we decided against it. Thankfully, that decision saved us from a lathicharge and a useless wait in the queue. Some of my friends who went at 11 30 PM ended up coming home empty handed and someone even had a bonus in the form of a bandage. In Bangalore, the public was to get just 8000 tickets. From what happened today, it seems only around 2000 were sold. The counter opened and closed before anyone knew about it. Those who walked back dejectedly included people who came from nearby districts taking leave from their meagre paying jobs, just because they love this game.

Its a scam of the highest kind where our cricketing bodies are hand in glove with black marketeers. The arrival of the IPL changed the way cricket functions. The IPL auctions are one of the ugliest things to have happened to this game. And it hit depths when legends like Ganguly, Dravid and Kumble were not bid by anyone in the auctions. It pains even more to see that these decisions are taken by such petty creatures like shahrukh khan and shilpa shetty. Cricket's no longer in the hearts of those millions of common men who paint their faces, wave the flags and cheer loudly from the stands all day long. Its in the hands of a privileged few in Armani suits, who has eaten up this beautiful game with their financial clout. There's an old saying in Malayalam, "Panathinu meethe parunthum parakkilla"(Not an eagle will fly over money). It seems some rich vultures are indeed flying over our lovely game.

your crusader Praveen

Sachin's Masterclass

One of my fav clicks!

There's a dream that every Indian cricket fan carries with him- To witness that scene of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar walking down the middle of the pitch, slowly removing his helmet, raising his bat and then looking up and thanking the heavens as the whole staidum roars in applause. It's an enduring image that defines the past 2 decades of Indian cricket. Many were lucky to watch it in the stadium, quite early on in his career. But, for some like me, it had off late become a dream that was slowly slipping away considering his advancing age and the probability of matches coming in your backyard. And that's when the Bangalore test match against the Aussies happened. The 1st day was a disappointment for us as the Aussies won the toss and batted through the day. We were to be content with watching Sachin on the field and cheering loudly and clicking whenever he touched the ball. We didn't get tickets for the second day.

3rd day morning. Sachin was on crease, nearing his half century. That's when Raja asked me, "why don't we go?" I had my own doubts considering the fact that it was the day after sunday(:P) and we were not college kids anymore. Also I had that big fear of Sachin getting out, the moment we stepped into the stadium. It had happened when he played in Bangalore for the last series against Australia. But then something told me to "take my chances"(and I had that song "take your chance" written by our dear friend Michael playing in my mind that time). And, so we headed to Chinnaswamy stadium on a sunny "day after sunday". We could hear the roars in the stadium, even before we reached its vicinity and we were sure Sachin was still at the crease. As we ran in, he was on 80. For the next few minutes, we sat there biting our nails and joining in the collective "ooooohs" whenever a ball swung in dangerously. Sachin on the nervous 90s raises the blood pressure of the nation for sure. Then on 93, we all had our hearts in our mouths, as he struck one high over long on. We had a huge sigh of relief and a big roar to give as we realised it had sailed on over the ropes. Before long, on 99, he did a repeat of the same shot and this time our hearts nearly stopped. It was wild elation all around when we saw the result was similar to before. The moment we were waiting for, had come. The man removed his helmets, raised his bat and thanked the heavens. BLISS! Cloud 49! Dream fulfilled, we sat there to witness Sachin mentoring Murali Vijay on the way to his maiden test century. As we went back that day, we knew we had taken our chance and fulfilled a dream.

Sachin, at his defensive best.

Sachin-Symphony of destruction

The six over long on, that he hit when he was on 93...

and then the next, while on 99..

The moment arrives...The raised bat and then the thanks to the heavens...all we dreamt of seeing for real for the past 2 decades..

Eat this...

Sachin the mentor- A pat on the back for Murali Vijay for his brilliant century..

And the next morning, we decided to take our chance, yet again. Sachin was on 191. Maybe, a triple century? This time, we had two more to our gang, Muthu and Jijo. And we reached the stadium quite early to see the stands slowly filling up and Sachin practising in the nets. I wonder, why this man needs to practice! :D The stands were full by the time he came out to bat. Sachin's biggest fan Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, who follows the Indian team wherever Sachin plays, was there too, with his trademark tricolor painted body and 'Tendulkar' written on it. We didn't have to wait for long for the double century. He reached the landmark with a cheeky single. Blessed twice in as many days, thats what we felt. He celebrated it with a straight four. We were slowly warming up for the triple century. But then, he got bowled soon on 214. The man quietly acknowedged it all, as the whole stadium stood up and applauded the masterclass. I wanted to leave the stadium at that very moment but stayed on as they still had hopes on a Dhoni magic. But sadly, the tail was wrapped up even before Sachin removed his pads in the dressing room. But, we were still content, as we were lucky to watch the Sachin double and also India taking the lead over the Aussies.

Single minded determination. Sachin practising in the nets on the 4th day morning...Unbeaten at 191, he came back to complete the double hundred.

A nation stands up to applaud. Sachin completing the 200th run.

Never getting tired of raising the bat..The double hundred

The leg glance

Sachin gets cheeky

And a majestic innings of pure class, comes to an end. Bowled!

Sachin looks back to see the stumps rearranged and the bails flying off..

5th day. Match could swing both ways. We were still undecided with Aussies on an overall lead of 200. We all know the nasty behaviour of Indian pitches on the 5th day of any test match. And to confirm our doubts, Sehwag was back in the pavilion just as the innings started. Smelling a thrilling finish, we made yet another trip to the stadium. the third time in as many days. This time we had two others joining in, Nikhil and Rahul. Debutant Pujara, who got a real nasty ball in the first innings, was playing the innings of his life. He, along with Murali Vijay, took India into a comfortable position. We reached on time to see Sachin at the start of the innings. Pujara departed after an innings that showed high temparament in high pressure. A class move by Dhoni there by sending him in place of Dravid. Soon, we had India's trusted combination of Sachin and Dravid at the crease, toying with Aussies. We smelled another 50 from Sachin. And we were again treated to that shots over long on, which he played during his century. The Aussies had given it up by then. And, it was yet another 50 from the master. It was a matter of time before the master and the wall clinically dismantled the brains of the AUssies. With 2 runs needed, they played out 2 maiden overs. Yeah, Just for fun, cos they can :P. We weren't complaining, as the solid defence from these stalwarts were a treat to watch. Before long, Sachin took a two and finished off the formalities. The full to the brim stadium erupted in joy. We stood there, finding it hard to believe our luck-A sachin double century in 1st innings, an unbeaten 50 in the 2nd innings, him hitting the winning run to complete a whitewash of the Aussies and then him winning the Man of the match and Man of the series. It was our wildest dreams coming true over 5 days.

The repeat! Sachin's six over long on in the second innings.

Yet another 50!

Sachin acknowledges the crowd after completing the winning run as the stadium erupts in wild celebrations.

Sachin and Dravid celebrating the win, as the dejected Aussies move in to congratule them..

Presentation ceremony- Sachin being called in to recieve the man of the match and man of the series.

Sachin with his man of the series trophy with an applauding Sunil Gavaskar behind him

The left handed sign!

Sachin displaying the trophy to the crowd during the lap of honour.

Here's a song for the man...motherjane's "before one million comes one". Infact, the band dedicated this song to Sachin when they played an unlugged concert here in Bangalore last week. This song was originally written about Mother Teresa.

There was one
who gave dignity to the dying
who brought hope to the living

There was one
who gave to a different degree
who proved with certainty,
that before one million comes one.

There was one
who gave a handful and a smile
who brought rest for just a while

There was one
who did what was possible
who took small sacrifices
and built a miracle

There was one, now there are a million
There was one, now there are a million

Coz when the horizon of a desert speaks of an ocean
A rain cloud is god sent, a raindrop is ecstasy
before one million comes one,
each similar to a different degree.

your crusader Praveen

Master,I bow before thee

I've always believed calling a living person as GOD is not acceptable. God is something which can't be seen or touched, its something which can only be felt. But there are moments when even that strong resolve is broken. When you see a heavenly painting by an artist, when you see a brilliant guitarist ripping it apart in a concert arena, when you see men/women with a large heart helping millions of poor, when you hear a gifted musician at his peak, when you see a sportsman at his best...Yesterday was one of those days, which made me break that resolve and call Him GOD of cricket and fall at his feet.

Memories came rushing in as he crossed the 170 mark yesterday. The only source to know the score was the mobile and the 'secret' web page that our company forgot to block. And I was in the laundry after a fight with the security regarding a new idiotic 'policy' from the company. The wait for 200 took me back to school days, specifically to that innings of 186 not out against New zealand. We all crowded together in a house near our school. The drawing room was filled with us with the house owner craning his neck somewhere behind, just to catch a glimpse of that majestic innings. We watched almost the whole innings, bunking period after period and the lovable house owner played happy host. It was a small disappointment when he couldn't break Paki Anwar's record. We all went back hoping for the day when Sachin will score a 200. Almost a decade has passed since then. I can still recollect what all I did on a day when Sachin played majestic innings like this. Such innings of rare brilliance as the 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 world cup, when I rushed back from the maths tuition class to watch it from first ball. Many many days like that when all that mattered was Sachin scoring a century. Such is the influence he has on the life of an average Indian. A sad day at office or a boring day at school turned into an unforgettable day. Unremarkable days made remarkable and memorable for ever just because a man decided to unleash his genius on the cricket ground. Moments when sports ceases to be just that and becomes LIFE.

As he crossed 200, the phone started ringing non stop. Everyone wanted to share their joy with their near and dear ones. Among those calls were, two calls from friends in school whom I haven't talked to in a long time. But with whom I've watched many a matches in that house near school. And together we had waited for many a centuries and walked back dejected. Also have jumped together elated at many of his achievements. And it took Sachin again to take us back to those days, talk to each other and share the joy. Sachin is more than just a sportsman, He is a feeling that unites many a million minds. He united more Indians together, more than any RELIGION could. Somewhere down the line someone may overtake the 200, some may score 250. All those numbers may tumble one day. But, some things will remain unbroken...the feeling of unity that Sachin brings, the sheer batting perfection that he unleashed and that down to earth character. Taking it all in his stride, he marches on unchallenged, India's marathon man. 20 years, we graduated from lollipops to blackberrys...but He remains there, where he truely belonged...at the top...

PS-And all those critics can now shut up, FOREVER!
SO bye bye to Paki Anwar from the record books. Its been a pain seeing his name there on top!! :D

your crusader Praveen

Ganguly: Our own Dada

Dada's dressing down in the den of the well-dressed

After Kumble's retirement, I thought I'll bid goodbye to goodbye posts till Sachin hangs up his boots. But, yesterday after watching India's second innings, during which Ganguly got out for a golden duck, that thought changed completely. He slowly walked back, before which he was seen looking up to the heavens, which no one was sure whether it was a thank you gesture or asking God "why not one last chance?". Then for about 30 minutes, he sat there in the pavilion with a face that conveyed myriad emotions and with his pads still on. He has certainly mellowed with age. And certainly he has become more mature compared to his aggressive earlier days. Nobody knows what he was thinking then. He might've been reliving his glory days on the field, of which this was not one. Or he might've been thinking about the tomorrow when he won't wear the Indian cap any more. But whatever he was thinking then, the average Indian cricket fan had only one thought in mind, a thought of gratitude to a man who gave a new direction to the sport in India.

King of offside

Indian cricket been a bastion of well-behaved gentlemen for whom 'aggression' was a word related to the world war. We always took sledging in its stride and chose not to hit back except in a few rare cases like Sunil Gavaskar. Then came the arrogant brat, who as a captain of his school cricket team was complained against by his own teammates for his arrogance. Even in 1992, he was dropped for the same reasons. Then, came 1996 and that test debut at Lords, where he along with Dravid grinded the England attack to submission. The Sahara cup against Pakistan was an one man series where Sourav gave India victory after victory with both his bat and ball. I became a fan of him during that knock of 124 against Pakistan in the Independence cup finals. India-Pak matches in those days were a matter of life and death. A score above 300 was a rarity and a sure guarantee for a win. That was when Ganguly turned the tables with that sublime knock. Further down the road came a stunner in the world cup game against Sri Lanka when the ball spend more time out of the stadium than inside. That image of him dancing down the track and hitting the spinners to oblivion is an enduring memory. That was the time when I loved watching him as much as I loved to watch my idol Sachin.

After the era of Azhar and Sachin's not so great experience with captaincy, the mantle fell on Ganguly. He brought in several youngsters like Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Sehwag etc and started building a team for the future. He guided them in such a way that he instilled in them some of his own qualities. This change was evident in that epochal series against Australia when India, playing in Ganguly's home ground, made an improbable comeback and went on to win the series. That was when the legend of Dada was born. He really became the big brother to his team mates as well as to millions of young Indian cricket fans. He taught them to meet 'sword with sword' and not with your bare hands. He once famously made the great Steve Waugh wait for the toss, a kind of giving back in the same coin to the Aussies. The culmination of all his aggression was seen at the Lord's balcony, the sacred place where englishmen won't appear without his hat and coat. And thats exactly where he removed his shirt and swung it wildly, a fitting reply to Flintoff's antics some weeks before in India. More than that, it symbolised the new spirit of the team which was ready to hit back at any opponent. The dream run in the 2003 world cup re-affirmed Dada's status as India's best ever captain. The Australian series in the same year, when he set the tone for the series with a remarkable century on the first day saw him grow in stature. The win in Pakistan in 2004 was another high point.
Thats when the decline started. A batsman who was second only to the great Sachin in the number of one day centuries was soon found wanting for form. The 'old man who spoiled Indian cricket' Greg Chappel played a stellar role in spoiling his career too. The same man who was brought to coach the Indian team because of Dada's recommendation played the role of a man lacking gratitude to perfection. As a result, Dada lost his captaincy as well as a place in the team. Men like Kiran More, whose contribution to Indian cricket can be compared to a beggar's contribution to India's GDP, began toying with his career. They made comments such as "In my tenure as selector, he wont see the door of the national side". But no one could keep him and his bat silent for too long. He made his comeback in South Africa by playing a role in India's historic win at Johannesburg. For the next two years, till his retirement he batted like a dream. But, the selectors in India again proved their stupidity and biased attitude by throwing him out of the ODI team, in an year in which he scored in excess of 1000 runs. Immense pressure was put on him to retain his test spot even when he was performing really well. Atlast, he decided enough was enough before this series against Australia. He played his part well in almost all the innings except that last one where he did a Bradman with that first ball duck. A career had come full circle. Dhoni's gesture of letting him to captain the side during the later part of the Aussie innings is worth applauding.

Dada, on being asked what he likes to be remembered for, said "I would like to be remembered as one who gave Indian cricket a new direction. And thats exactly what he'll be remembered for. Behind that aggressive exterior, he was a soft spoken man who always remained loyal to his team. He had this deep belief in his abilities and his tactics that he was able to influence his team mates more than anyone else. His aggression was one of subtlety. Though removing your shirt on the field won't come anywhere near to being subtle, there was some method in his madness. All those instances of aggression were to convey a point. It was not the brand of blind aggression shown by some of the new Indian players of the ilk of Sreesanth. What he did was art, while what some of these guys are doing is pure sacrilege. He was the king of the offside. He had a particularly bad weakness to the short pitched balls which he worked on and solved somewhat towards the end of his career. In Bengal, he's a demigod who's worshipped by everyone. That was evident from the backlashes that were seen from the Bengali people each of the time injustice was meted out to him.

His legacy-that famous shirt. The symbol of aggression

More than any of this, what he'll be remembered for is his fighting spirit and his 'never say die' attitude. Each time he was out of the team, he clawed back with increased vigour, hell bent on proving his detractors wrong. The image that I'll forever remember of him is not one on the cricket field. But, its from that pepsi commercial when he was out of the team. He was shown sitting in an empty stadium. And this was what he said in that "Hi, mera naam sourav Ganguly hai. Bhoole tho Nahin? Jo hua, kyoon hua, kaise hua, yeh sab sochke dukh bhi hota tha aur gussa bhi aatha tha. Par ab nahin. Mein team mein vaapas aane keliye bohat bohat practise kar rahaan hoon. Kya maloom? Hawa mein shirt ghumaane ke mujhe aur ek moka mil jaaye. Jo bhi ho, team ke andhar yaa baahar, mein chup baitnewaala nahin. Hooha India, Aaya India. India ke har match ko mein aisi hi chillaaoonga. aap bhi chillaaye. Mere team ko achha lagega. Apni dada ke baat sunege na?". I would say no one, just no one would have the guts to do such a commercial when he's out of the team. But not dada. Those words pained a lot of us at that time. And seeing that again today on youtube, somewhere it pains a lot to think that this big brother wont be there anymore to thrill us and guide our youngsters on the cricket field. That smile, that dancing down the pitch for that sixer and that shirt swinging in the air will forever be missed. But his legacy will live on in those aggressive cricketers who don India's colours in the future. And that is Dada's lasting gift to Indian cricket.

PS- I dedicate this post to my friend Kartoos, the biggest Dada fan I've ever seen. Read this old post by her, U'll know why am telling that.

your crusader Praveen

Anil Kumble:India's own smiling assassin

It came as a bolt in the blue. And it was the shortest interval between a retirement announcement and the actual retirement. Kumble, India's greatest ever test bowler bid adieu to the stage which he has graced for 18 long years. His debut against England at old Trafford coincided with Sachin's maiden test hundred. From that day, he has grown in stature to such a level that he can safely be called "the Sachin of bowling". The critics, whose job most of the time is to concentrate on the negative side of anything, haven't been too kind to him when they accused him of not being a genuine spinner. His straight deliveries lacking spin won him the name 'a spinner who doesn't spin the ball'. But most of them conveniently forget that its these very own straighter ones that scalped 100s of rival wickets and won India many a test match. Infact, he has singlehandedly won more tests for India than any other player ever to have worn the blue cap.

Today, the day started for me with a disgusting comment on Kumble by another retired cricketer craving for the limelight, Dilip Vengsarkar. "Kumble's time is up", thats what he had to say. Also he was accused of having underbowled Amit Mishra. The same man said after the Bangalore test that "An unfit Kumble is letting the team down". That was only the 3rd occasion in his 132 tests that Kumble went wicketless. Vengsarkar would do well to dust up his old records and check in how many matches he was out for nought. He should also check in how many matches he scored a century(equivalent to a 5-wicket haul) and then use his fingers to count the number of matches he won singlehandedly. You can't expect him to take 10 tickets in every other test match. When you have a long career, off days are bound to happen.

A test century at last-in his 118th test..a perfect picture for the slogan "Never give up"

Its poetic justice that he bids goodbye in the very own ground where he scripted one of the Golden chapters of Indian cricket taking all 10 wickets in an innnings. Ferozshah Kotla is his own ground, even more than his home ground Chinnaswamy. But it was sad that in his last match he didn't shine as expected. The last ball he bowled, a low full toss which was promptly despatched to the boundary by Hayden, was not quite a fitting end to a glorious career. When he announced his retirement this afternoon, the whole cricketing fraternity expressed its shock. He was expected to carry on atleast till the series against England. No one expected him to announce his retirement on the last day of a test match. But the injury to his finger made sure that he won't play the Nagpur test. And Kumble decided it was time to take the decision. Its a heartening fact that we've a great captain in Dhoni to take us to the future. But, we'll miss a match winning bowler, the void left by whom will be hard to fill. Amit Mishra is a good prospect as was evident in the previous test at Mohali but these are still early days for him to be compared with 'the smiling assassin'.

Kumble bowling with a broken jaw in West Indies

Nicknamed 'Jumbo' for his over sized feet and his deliveries which are too fast for a spinner, Kumble was a great statesman who conducted well on the field and never got into a spat with anybody on field. His calm comment "only one team played in the right spirit of the game", after the infamous Sydney test match is an example of this man's character. Any other captain would've lashed out with harsh words but this simple sentence was enough to convey the message. He played with great determination and had a 'jumbo size' heart. And it is this very heart that enabled him to work on his batting and score a century in his 118th test. Now, no one has scored his first century as late in his career as Kumble. And last week he completed 2500 runs in test cricket too. No mean achievement that. His 6 for 12 against West Indies at home, about 15 years back, is still unsurpassed in Indian cricket. The look on his eyes as he closes in to deliver the ball can pierce through any batsman. We all stood up and applauded when he came on to bowl with a broken jaw bounded with a big bandage against West Indies, some summers back. That one incident encapsulates what Kumble is. A sportsperson par excellence, an epitome of determination and an icon of fairplay. Kumble, Indian cricket and its diehard fans like will miss you. Take a bow, one final time...

one from my cam-when Kumble visited our campus

PS-I make it a point never to write 2 consecutive posts related to the same subject. But this time I had to do it as this was unexpected. More posts on this subjectt will come soon with most of my favourite cricketers set to retire in the coming days.

pic courtesy-dancewithshadows.com, zeenews.com

your crusader Praveen

Who's bad? Gambhir or Watson?

Aussies have done it again. 'Provoke and trap', the Aussie strategy has worked again. The latest casualty in this well set trap is Gautam Gambhir. Yesterday, Shane Watson provoked him with an outstretched hand and some real nice words while he was taking a run. He returned the favour as he ran back with a slight elbowing, which he himself termed as unintentional. He was again targeted by Simon Katich. Now, what we see today is that Watson was let off with a small fine and Gambhir was banned for the next test match. This is another case in a long line of ones where the victim is the one who is punished. And by some strange coincidence, these victims happen to be Asians.

Aussies are real bad losers. The moment they find that they are losing their grip on the game, they let out their ugly side. Many might not have forgotten the Monkeygate at Sydney. Gilchrist, one of the few Aussie players I used to respect, showed his 'true colours' with some uncharitable comments against a man who is considered as the embodiment of fair play on the field. After retiring, he found himself out of the limelight and this was the way he discovered to get himself back there. Another hidden agenda was popularising his book. Now, he's at it again with more such comments on Sourav Ganguly. I pity these guys. Ponting, before coming to India for the current tour, was bragging about the Australian brand of attacking cricket and made fun of India's old school game. Once the real game started, the tables turned and Indians played attacking cricket whereas Aussies went into ultra defensive mode. Then they went into 'attack' mode, not with their bat or ball, but with their behaviour. As usual, the best performing player was targeted. But, unexpectedly they got a taste of their own medicine. And, the administrators with that 'Hate Asia' agenda didn't like it.

the McGrath-Sarwan spat

I don't understand, why this partiality? The Australian team was bowling at a slow over rate. If my memory serves right, this was the reason for which Sourav Ganguly was banned for a few tests some years back. Then, why did they not take action against 'Punter' Ponting? There are numerous such cases where they have gone scot free and we've got punished. BCCI's monetary clout been troubling them for a long time. Now this is the way these jealous guys get over this frustration. Though the Aussies appear tough from outside, they are real cry babies inside. They'll taunt you with expletives of the highest order. If you give one back, they'll cry foul. Remember that famous Sarwan-McGrath spat? McGrath asked Sarwan, "How's Lara's 'u know what'?". He just replied "Ask your wife". Quite a funny retort. But McGrath got really angry. If you can't bear with it, don't do such things in the first place. But these guys never understand. They neednot. Because, they have the match referees and the administrators at ICC to help them by punishing the victim.

images courtesy-Timesnow.tv, cricketnext.com

your crusader Praveen

Growing up with a Genius- Sachin

Rewind. 18 years. Stop. That day, we got our first ever TV at home. Till that day, the word 'cricket' didn't mean much to me though I had visited the mecca of Indian cricket "Eden Gardens", as a toddler. My only other information on the game were the things which my father used to tell me, which honestly I found hard to comprehend. One of those days just after the TV became a part of the household, we saw a small program on cricket in the exciting and only one channel called doordarshan(yes, it was exciting then). They were talking about an immensely talented young cricketer and his latest exploits. I didn't understand much of what they told. But the smiling face of that youngster got imprinted somewhere deeply in my heart. Then after some days, one of my neighbours, a big guy who used to come to play with us told me a story. A story about a braveheart cricketer who as a 16 year old playing his first match against a team boasting of some fearsome fast bowlers. Sadly, he got hit many times on his body by the ruthless bowlers. At one point of time, he was bleeding too. But, he declined to be carried away in a stretcher and played some audacious shots. Though, he didn't score much, he had made his mark. After the story, I made him repeat the name of the guy many times to me as I was finding it hard to pronounce and remember that name. The name was, as you might have guessed, "Sachin Tendulkar". From that day, that name's been on my lips whenever I think of the game of cricket. No wonder, my favorite ad those days was the boost ad featuring old Kapil and a young Sachin saying "Boost is the secret of our energy".

Just like with A.R.Rahman's music, it was a case of growing up together. Those days, in school, there was no question about who the world's greatest cricketer was. We were all Sachin fans, so there were no fights in that regard. India didn't have frequent matches like we have today. So, we had to wait patiently for months at a time to see him play. And, there were no ways to see the overseas series. Thats when I first started touching the newspaper. As soon as I get it, its a frantic rush to the last page to see the cricket scoreboard. My eyes first went to the middle of the score board, where Sachin's name used to appear. Only then would I proceed to see the team score. It gave me immense pleasure whenever he had a good score. The hero-cup semifinal match against South Africa when he bowled the last over, with them needing 6 runs and he conceeded just 3 runs is still fresh in memory.The madness reached its heights during the 1996 world cup. The whole country was glued to the television. Though Jayasurya and his mates from the island won the cup, for Indians it was Sachin all the way till that horrible day at Eden Gardens. The Titan cup with him as captain is unforgettable. In the matches that India won, including the finals he made sizeable contributons with the bat. Though many others scored tons of runs, I never bothered. None of them gave me the sheer pleasure that this guy gave. His straight drives and cover drives were enough to make me jump up from my seat and scream. Whenever he failed, it was heartbreak. I would switch off the tv and would forget about the match. The images of him walking back always made me sad.
Talking of images, I had this hobby of keeping paper cuttings. There are 1000s of images of Sachin that I got from 'The Hindu', the local 'Mathrubhoomi' and 'The sportstar'. His shots, his ADs, his public appearances, everything were cut up and neatly stacked in my collection. Still, there were sometimes when I thought he's not that a good player as I expected. He's failing many times. There were some days when I just hated him. Thats when the year 1998 came. Sachin was everywhere. From decimating the Aussies, right from the tour match against Mumbai to the deserts of Sharjah, Sachin once and for all tore that elements of hate and doubt away from me. He kept me happy the whole year. I read and re-read the "I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six" comment by Shane Warne. Those 2 nights in Sharjah are worth adding to the 1001 Arabian nights for its sheer beauty. Then came 1999 world cup and tragedy struck. His father died. A world cup without Sachin was unimaginable. India lost the first 2 matches. Then he came back, placing his country first. And what a comback it was. A blistering 140 off 101 balls, coming from a man who's coming to terms with a tragedy in his life. They won some more matches. But sadly, this time also India didn't win the cup. We used to watch India's matches at a house near our school. I still remember watching his innings of 186 against New Zealand one whole morning and coming to class with a beaming face in the afternoon. Around this time, Sachin's classic cover drive made it to the cover of the TIME magazine.
Sachin kept going. Records kept tumbling. And we were treated to more innings of heavenly quality, most notably the 136 that he made against Pakistan at Chennai battling an injury. When the other batsmen fell like nine pins and India lost by 12 runs, he was blamed for not finishing th game. That was the start of the age of mindless Sachin bashers. They questioned everything from his commitment to his greatness. As a stupid poll in NDTV asked 2 days back , just before his 12000 runs in test cricket, "Is Sachin Playing for his records alone?". And close to 50% of those who voted said yes. Is this what we should give him for being a tireless warrior who put his everyting into the game for 2 decades? How can anyone forget what he has done to Indian cricket starved of brilliant players? We look into the filtered statistics which point out his failures and conveniently forget his victories which are larger in number. If he scores runs against minnows, its a sin. At the same time, we forget that he has scored the maximum against the invincible Aussies. He was ridiculed as an injury prone cricketer. 'Try playing international cricket for 20 years and come out unscatched. Then speak.' Thats what I've to say to these so-called learned critics who consider themselves to be the grandfathers of W.G.Grace.
In the 2003 World cup, India started off with a string of very bad losses. The fans back home were baying for the team's blood. Sachin appealed to the home fans to show a little patience and promised them that they will deliver the goods. From then on, we saw a different Sachin. Every bowling attack was torn apart as he went on to score 673 runs and win the player of the tournament. England's Caddick said-"Sachin's just like another batsman in the Indian team". Next match he saw this another batsman hitting him out of the park and scoring 36 off his 19 balls. That pull shot off Caddick which went out of the park is another unforgettable one. Then, the sublime innings against the Pakistanis. That was just perfection. Still, the failure in the finals saddened him. He had nothing much to do after the bowlers conceded 358 runs to the Aussies. The critics as usual quickly forgot those 673 runs which took India to the finals and tore him apart for the runs he didn't score in the finals.
Last week, I fulfilled the long cherished dream of watching him live,at Bangalore. I passionately joined in that earth shattering roar that always accompanies Sachin's arrival at the crease. Its a reception specially reserved for him, no other cricketer ever commanded that much fan frenzy. The 'Sachin Sachin' chants start from the time the 2nd Indian wicket falls to the time he faces the first ball. But sadly he failed in the first innings and my wish to watch him conquer the record was vanished. Yesterday, as he reached the pinnacle of world cricket by overtaking Lara's record and being the first person to score 12000 runs in test cricket, I was at office. I wanted to scream out loud, but the company policies don't allow me that. He is now the emperor of test and one day cricket with 12000 and 16000 runs respectively. In one days, no one is even near his record. Still, I saw stupid people arguing on Sachin's commitment to the team. What is enough for them, I dont know. What more do they need, God knows. I can't find a more perfect role model than him in Indian sports. If there's a human equivalent of 'down to earth', it is him. He's an example for everyone on how to carry success and brilliance on one's shoulders. Coming to on-field behaviour, there's no one better. The only guy to be given 'head before wicket' hasn't bothered to turn back or show dissent on even a single occaion when he was wrongly given out. He still lives the simple life of a family man and stays away from 'page 3'. He does a hell lot for charity but prefers to keep it all a secret rather than boast about it to the media.
The critics have been talking about his retirement for too long. And yesterday, they got a fitting reply. "People sometimes throw stones and you convert them into milestones"-Words from a softspoken man who always made his bat do the talking. I just have one more wish for Sachin-the 2011 world cup. I hope he retires only after that. But once he hangs up his boots, cricket won't be the same again, atleast for me. I may stop watching cricket regularly as I did with Formula 1 after Schumi's retirement. India will never find a replacement for this man, a man as charismatic, and such a genius as this. Like Federer, like Schumi, like Maradona, he's an once in a lifetime player. And we all are lucky to have lived in this times. To all those criticize him mindlessly, we, the billions of Sachin fans around the world, are doing just fine without you. You can 'think' whatever you like, because nobody cares what 'you' think. Go, Sachin GO. The world is at your feet.
-with love, an ardent fan of 18 years

your crusader Praveen